2013 Ford Escape

Finally, a new Escape. It doesn't look boring anymore, but neither is it as exciting as we'd hoped.

Remember this day, because this is when we at Car and Driver admit that we were anticipating a small crossover. Ever since we saw the Vertrek concept, which Ford showed in Detroit last year to preview the new Escape, we’ve genuinely been looking forward to the production vehicle. Why else would we have posted three separate sets of spy photos ? The Vertrek was a stunner, and it looked awfully showroom-ready. At the 2011 Los Angeles auto show, we finally get to see just how close it was to reality—and we’re a little bummed that it wasn’t closer.

Lots o’ Four-Cylinders, Couple o’ Turbos

The Vertrek was a very faithful predictor of the Escape in terms of one of the latter’s three available engines. In addition to the 1.6-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder it shares with the concept (173 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque in production trim), the Escape will offer a 2.0-liter EcoBoost four with 237 hp and 250 lb-ft. The base engine will be Ford’s old 2.5-liter inline-four, which also served as the base engine in the outgoing Escape and can’t be accused of ever thrilling anyone. Its 168 hp and 167 lb-ft only barely trail the 1.6’s, but don’t consider the certain turbo upcharge money for nothing. The smaller motor will no doubt boast a much higher level of refinement and have higher fuel-economy ratings—which might even be possible in the real world if you stay out of the boost. As we previously reported, the hybrid and V-6 Escapes are dead, because EcoBoost can do it all. (Pancakes, anyone? It’s got a fresh batch coming up!)

All engines will be mated to a six-speed automatic—the only option now that the five-speed manual is no longer offered on the base Escape. While the same basic automatic gearbox was used in last year’s Escape, it has a revised ratio spread for 2013, as well as a new torque converter said to provide smoother shifts. There’s now a rocker switch on the side of the shifter with which the driver (or sneaky passengers) can order manual shifts, but we refuse to consider this any sort of sporty manumatic function. It’s more of a way to limit upshifts when towing—properly equipped, the Escape is rated to pull up to 3500 pounds, a figure others in the compact-ute class refuse to surpass.

Ford says that the new engine lineup will contribute to increases of as much as 5 mpg over the EPA fuel-economy ratings of the outgoing Escape, but projections of the EPA’s projections are not yet available. With the inline-four, the old car was good for a best of 21 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway with the automatic, and it slugged gas at a rate of 18/23 mpg with the 3.0-liter V-6 and all-wheel drive. Ford says it has improved the aerodynamics of the Escape by nearly 10 percent, and active grille shutters that close to reduce drag at higher cruising speeds are standard with the 1.6 and 2.5. As is front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is available and includes what Ford claims is torque vectoring but is really just a function of stability control. But now that stability control is essentially required on all new vehicles sold in the U.S., it’s become useless in advertising.

Not Available: High-Speed Noodle Cannon, Bowing Lessons

The Escape should have plenty of horns to toot in advertising regardless. Ford boasts that its new compact ute has “eleven features no other small SUV offers.” Sadly, none of the eleven is a noodle cannon that fires raw pasta from the barrel at such a speed that it heats up and cooks itself instantly in the moisture of the air. The features the Escape does include, however, might be more useful in some situations—like loading that pasta and the rest of your groceries into your miniature truck. Like the Grand C-Max Ford sells in Europe, 2013 Escapes equipped with keyless entry and start get a hands-free power hatch that automatically opens when the driver waves a foot under the rear bumper. We first encountered this feature on the European Volkswagen Passat, and we’ll put our Next Big Thing money on it now.

Not all of the other 10 features are worth individual mention—two are Sync and MyFord Touch—but Active Park Assist is. Ford is the leading wizard in the self-parking arena, and while everybody who can drive a car should also be able to park one, it takes an outstanding parallel parker to best this system as fitted in the Focus. Ford says the Escape will tuck into a space barely more than three feet longer than itself, and having experienced firsthand the speed and fluidity with which the Focus slots itself into tight quarters, we’ll just say this: Bow to your sensei.

The Focus influence is clear inside, too, where occupants will find an upsized version of Ford’s new small-car interior. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—the bold, modern design has far more personality than those of most other small utes. In a class that usually has us searching for new synonyms for “boring,” the Escape’s interior decorations are downright daring. For that added upscale touch, the dash, armrests, and upper-door panels are all crafted from soft-touch material.

Downsizing: Not Just For Engines. For Bodies and Enthusiasm, Too

Attractive as the environs may be, they are slightly smaller than before—not surprising, considering the fact that the previous Escape was basically a refrigerator box with wheels. There’s a touch less headroom front and rear, but while front-row passengers lose 1.2 inches of legroom, all of that went to rear-seat passengers, who see an extra 1.2 inches. Overall volume is now 52 cubic feet up front (down three from the outgoing Escape) and 46 cubes in back (up two). Cargo space with the seats up is a generous 34 cubic feet; fold the seats and you’ll be looking at 68 cubes of pea-gravel potential—increases of 3 and 1, respectively. Both measures trail the most capacious boots in the segment, but only just.

Based on bones similar to those beneath the fantastic new Focus, the Escape holds much more dynamic promise than its predecessor and uses four times as much high-strength steel. But it’s the sheetmetal that got us so excited about the Vertrek, and the same that disappoints us when it comes to the new Escape. Of course the wheels have to be smaller—the concept wore 21s. But the lower altitude of the production car makes it look a lot less tough. Combine the less-aggressive stance with a flatter roofline than the concept’s menacing rake—again, an understandable development—and you end up with a far-less-thrilling shape. And c’mon, Ford, fender vents? Why not a landau roof and T-tops while you’re at it?

From many angles, this Ford looks an awful lot like the new Honda CR-V, and we see a lot of Subaru in the rear view. The Escape looks okay from some angles, but doesn’t look as good as the Vertrek from any. There’s a lesson here: Concept vehicles should be exciting, but not so close to the production vehicle that people end up disappointed. Still, here’s hoping that feeling is tempered—or even eradicated—by the driving experience.